New Jersey Lawyer Says Fraudulent Robo-Signing Creates Foreclosure Factory

Westwood, NJ (PRWEB) February 7, 2011

Today, many homeowners are under the impression that they can take no action and have no rights in protecting their home. The underlying concept in foreclosure as with any legal matter in the United States is "due process." In instances where banks have circumvented due process, they are in violation of the law and the case can be dismissed. It is not enough in this day and age to know your rights, one has to exercise those rights. Banks are using fraudulent paperwork and taking shortcuts to trigger foreclosures. Homeowners have the right to question the validity of the supporting paperwork and documentation, and bring the matter before a judge.

"Robo-signing doesn’t capture it. You’re talking about fathers and mothers and kids and pets and schools, and all the things that make up living — it’s not just a bunch of technicalities or useless paperwork," according to Josh Denbeaux of Denbeaux & Denbeaux, a Westwood law firm leading the fight against fraudulent foreclosures.

In fact, the sad truth is, sometimes a bank will foreclose on a property that is not in default, leaving home owners at their wit's end.

Take one New Jersey homeowner for example: they were paying their mortgage, taxes and insurance on time to the bank, but because the bank was paying the taxes on a different (non-existent) address, it looked as if the taxes weren't being paid. Suddenly, the bank decided to initiate foreclosure proceedings, and ignored the protests of the homeowner. Although the bank doesn't have the right to do this, it can trigger foreclosure proceedings if it wants to. Unfortunately, for unsuspecting homeowners who are doing the right thing, they wind up having to take the bank to court to protect their house. While it may not be the intent of the bank to do the wrong thing - it is clear that they are not doing the right thing in this case. What is important here is that the homeowner has the right to question the validity of the supporting paperwork and documentation, and bring the matter before a judge.

"It’s become a massive factory operation, only it isn’t a factory that produces widgets," said Denbeaux. "It’s a factory that produces heartbreak and insanity."

In another case, a bank has tried to proceed with a foreclosure, however, without having an actual mortgage assigned to them which would allow them to proceed with foreclosure in the event of a default. While this would seem like an obvious error, the practices of refinancing loans by home owners and purchases of mortgages by banks and other institutions can sometimes lead to shortcuts being taken. Laws governing real estate are old and specifically tied to state and local procedures in recording transactions and transfers. Lately, cases are cropping up where signatures were not obtained on documents, and documents simply do not exist that give a bank or institution the right to claim them, hold the mortgage, and therefore, have a right to foreclose on a home. But as we have seen before, banks don't necessarily do the right thing.

Today, many homeowners are under the impression that they can take no action and have no rights in protecting their home. The underlying concept in foreclosure as with any legal matter in the United States is "due process." In instances where banks have circumvented due process, they are in violation of the law and the case can be dismissed. It is not enough in this day and age to know your rights, one has to exercise those rights.

"The Supreme Court has finally said, 'Wait a second — let’s see what’s going on," says Denbeaux. "The courts have finally come around."

Homeowners need to be in a proactive state of mind in order to know their rights and make good choices about their options when dealing with banks. If you have questions about a home foreclosure, or are having difficulty in getting a home loan modification please call Joshua Denbeaux of the Westwood New Jersey law firm, Denbeaux and Denbeaux to answer your questions at 201-664-8855. On the web at http://www.denbeauxlaw.com or send an email to pr(at)denbeauxlaw(dot)com

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